Yarra’s Adventure Notes
Chapter 497 - 61 Prisoner_1

Chapter 497: Chapter 61 Prisoner_1

"Help! Murder!" Pannis suddenly screamed into the sea, shaking the water with his unique frequency, causing the ocean to tremble. The four girls gazed at him, clueless about his hysteria. But Pannis shouted even louder, "We’re going to get murdered. If you don’t help, you’ll see us dead! Won’t you do something? If we die, there’ll be no one left to help you."

"Ugh, you’ve become such a nuisance." A sigh echoed from all around them, a sigh that felt like it came from the entirety of the ocean. Following the sigh, the sea suddenly started to pulsate rhythmically. The nightmarish creatures pursuing them from the sunken ship were suddenly encapsulated by a massive water sphere. To be precise, a vast area encompassing the shipwreck, the adventure team who had distanced themselves, were all shrouded by this giant water sphere. The water sphere started to shrink swiftly; as it passed by the adventure team, the girls felt a gentle sea wave brush their skin, indicating they had crossed the border of the sphere. But the nightmares weren’t so fortunate; they were unable to break through the bound of the sphere and were pushed back by its shrinking border.

The girls closely observed and noticed about thirty nightmares writhing and snarling as they chased after them, depicted as monstrous shadows that seemed to want to devour everything. But unfortunately, they were doomed not to consume anything. The water sphere cage was indestructible; despite their aggressive attacks, they could not even make a ripple in the water sphere.

The nightmarish shadows were roaring and struggling, but they were unwillingly compressed towards the centre of their watery prison. Their movement space was becoming decreasingly smaller, and they were gradually pressed into a black sphere where their individual forms became indistinguishable. The black sphere’s radius shrank with the water sphere until it became a minuscule black dot. That dot lingered in the water for a few seconds, and following a faint sound of a bursting bubble, it vanished, as if it had never even existed.

Having witnessed the entire ordeal, the girls could only feel a chill down their spines. Against these nightmares, if they employed suitable tactics, they would have very good chances of defeating ten or so, but definitely not thirty. The only options in that case would be to run. And yet, these enemies, who the girls could go toe to toe with, were effortlessly eliminated by a sudden water sphere like crushing an insignificant bug, not even a bubble’s trace could be left. What if they were in that situation... The girls didn’t dare to think further. But a sea creature with such formidable power, if controlled back then, what would have been the consequence? Perhaps the entire layout of the Yarran World would have changed.

"That voice?" Catherine suddenly looked up, looking at Pannis in surprise. "I remember it’s Doris’s voice, right?"

"Yes, it’s me." Doris’s voice still echoed from all around them, "I didn’t think you’d be able to recognize me."

"How come you’re here?" Catherine asked in surprise, "Aren’t you supposed to be in the Storm God Temple?"

"Oh, poor me, my body is still in the Storm God Temple." Doris’s voice contained a whine, lamenting, "But my vitality is captive, captive within the soul of my most trusted sibling. Like an ordinary, weak woman, my spirit could be ruined by a mere thought of his. Weep, I can only serve him shamelessly under his coercion, seeing no future hope, weep."

With that, even Freya starts to look at Pannis from the corner of her eyes, giving him the same suspicious look as everyone else.

"Hey, you can’t possibly believe that?" Pannis yelled, pulling his hair, "And you Doris, it was you who wanted to enter, aren’t you ashamed of speaking such lies now? You’re the expert in controlling vitality, if you didn’t willingly enter, no matter how capable I was, I wouldn’t have been able to get you into my soul."

"You two seem to get along well." Lina, with an unusual tone, said, "Although I don’t exactly understand these, even I know that such a thing is dangerous for both parties, and yet, you two did it so easily."

"Right," Catherine’s eyebrow twitched, she quietly added, "Such mutual trust."

"Shouldn’t the focus be elsewhere?" Pannis paused, waving his hands around, "Isn’t it time for you to start questioning her why she secretly followed us here? Why is it suddenly about me?"

"My foolish sibling," Doris’s voice had a teasing and snickering tone, "This is why you have never understood a woman’s heart. You will never comprehend what a woman is thinking."

"We didn’t need to ask such a question." Catherine ignored Doris’s words, she snorted, "She merely wanted to come and have a look around, and you, quite easily, were persuaded by her. You brought her in here, hiding it from us, correct? But Doris, your vitality can follow the flow of water, can it not? Why couldn’t you go and observe this place on your own?"

"She cannot enter here." Lina glanced at Pannis without moving her head, she looked at the shipwreck, "Demos’s Holy Image is here, and most probably, this is the last location of his divine power. His power is mixed with the Sea God’s, making this part of the sea like a conflicted area with a mix of godly powers. She would need Lord Caleto’s exclusive territory to inspect this place."

"Absolutely correct," Doris’s voice became serious, "This part of the sea, around dozens of square kilometers, is the only area in the Devilish Sea Area that I can’t explore. I had my doubts about this place and wanted to check it myself, so I asked Pannis to bring me here. But this matter is extremely sensitive, it’s like putting my life completely in his hands if other priests knew about it; no matter the cost, they would oppose it. Even Lanna wouldn’t agree, so to avoid potential complications, I asked Pannis to leave you girls in the dark."

"It’s more than just that, isn’t it?" Catherine shook her head with a slight smile on her face. "I remember now, Pannis had mentioned earlier about you giving him a hostage. You must be the hostage, right? You put your own life at stake to reassure us, proving that the Sea Race won’t harm us, isn’t that right?"

"Yes." Doris was silent for a moment before she said, "I am the hostage."

"But then, another question arises." Catherine’s train of thought was clear as she confidently asked, "What made you think that you had to provide a hostage to reassure us? Or to put it differently, we were not uneasy before setting out, but you seemed to think that during the journey, we might retreat out of fear, hence the need for a hostage. So why did you think that?"

"There’s only one answer." Freya, who was as adept at diplomacy as Catherine, jumped in. She grew up with an education that enabled her to excel at this role. In their past adventures, the two girls had always negotiated with outsiders together. She had now grasped Catherine’s line of thought and added, "You knew that during our search, we might encounter enlightening incidents that would alter our perception of the Sea Race’s power and our resolve towards this mission, causing us to feel insecure about you. But why did you anticipate such encounters when you’re not a Diviner?"

"So, either you knew since the beginning, or you got the information from the Oracle of the Sea God." Catherine concluded, "But you withheld this information, you didn’t tell anyone, not even Pannis. Although he can sometimes be a scoundrel, we trust him. He wouldn’t keep us in the dark about such matters."

"Ah." Doris let out a sigh, speaking softly. "Why do your thoughts have to be so clear? Yes, I do have some general knowledge about what has transpired here. After all, when Lady Amphitrite perished in the battle, and the Sea Emperor’s Crown was lost, the incident made a deep impact. In the Sea Race, where long-lived races are not uncommon, bits and pieces of the story will have been passed down."

"So, what exactly happened here?" Catherine pressed on, "Can you explain?"

"Didn’t you guys already figure it out?" Doris said, "Your speculation is even more detailed than what I initially knew."

"You can hear everything we’re saying?" Catherine was astonished. "And you can cast such powerful magic to destroy those nightmares?"

"I wasn’t joking when I said that I have kept myself imprisoned in my brother’s soul." Doris stated seriously, "I can see and hear everything that he can, but I can’t do anything if he doesn’t allow me to. Just now, he lifted the protection of his soul, which allowed me to cast the spell. Giving my life to you could also be seen as my apology for not trusting you."

"So, you’re saying that you trust us, or rather trust Pannis to the extent that you will entrust your life to him," Catherine asked, "But for you, this mission is more important than your life, so you can’t completely trust him or us?"

"Hmm." Doris didn’t respond, she just made a quiet noise of affirmation.

"But if we continue like this, we’re still going to find out the secret eventually." Catherine’s question was sharp as a knife, "At that point, even if you don’t trust us, there’s nothing you can change. Hence, your current worry and actions are all pointless."

"That’s enough, don’t pressure her any further," Pannis suddenly interrupted, "She’s like a desperate gambler who’s put all the stakes on this round. Her being a hostage is also a way for her to avoid the situation. If she was to lose the gamble, she’d rather die at my hands than witness what comes next. Isn’t that right, Doris?"

"You..." Doris managed to say just one word, then fell silent.

"Am I wrong, sister?" Pannis queried.

The entire sea area fell into an awkward silence.